Today’s Beer News Briefs

Today’s New York Postfeatures a great profile of Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at New York’s Brooklyn Brewery. In the interview Oliver discusses a wide range of topics, including his chief responsibilities as brewmaster. He says his responsibilities are,

Basically I’m responsible for the liquid. It’s pretty much that simple. I’m responsible for all the beer from start to finish, from the time I come up with the concept ’til someone’s glass is empty. There are parts of that process that are very creative, there are parts that are scientific, parts that are engineering. So it means you don’t have any boring days, and most of them are really busy. My biggest fear when this changed from a hobby to a job was, am I going to ruin this for myself? But it’s been quite the opposite. It’s really interesting, and it has that extra edge to it because it really matters. You’re putting the beer in front of thousands and even millions of people.

Click here for the rest of the interview with Oliver, one of America’s premiere craft brewers.

Also, people of Grand Rapids – prepare to rejoice. Mark Sellers is opening his dream bar, Hopcat, on January 12th in the former Sierra Room. Click to read on.

Hopcat is designed to be a true beer lover’s bar. It will feature 48 taps, including one for a small-batch in-house brewing operation slated to be installed in late January or early February. John Haggerty, brewmaster from New Holland Brewing, is slated to be the first guest brewer. Sellers is also working with a home brewers club and other breweries to create special one-off 3.5 barrel batches. (That’s about seven kegs.)

Hopcat’s Web site is already online and allowing those who are interested to sign up for e-mail updates. Enjoy, Michigan!